1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to manually operated cutting tools, and particularly to a strap and band cutter having specially configured jaws for leaving safely rounded corners on the two ends of a strap or band after cutting.
2. Description of the Related Art
Steel and plastic banding straps are used to secure pallet loads, crates, and other materials for shipping and transport. Such straps and bands are formed of relatively thin material, resulting in quite sharp edges, particularly in the case of steel straps and bands. The use of such straps and bands has become so commonplace that many special tools have been developed for installing such straps and bands about the material to be shipped. The tools are generally capable of applying considerable tension to the straps and bands in order to hold the strapped or banded articles securely.
The bands or straps used in such packaging are considered to be expendable, throwaway items. When the goods are to be removed from their shipping pallet or separated from their packaged or banded state, the bands or straps are cut and discarded. Conventionally, a manually operated shears, such as sheet metal shears or the like, is used to cut the strapping material. It will be seen that the thin material of which such straps and bands are formed, along with the use of a conventional cutting tool, results in the cut ends of the strap having corners that are quite sharp and capable of inflicting serious cuts or wounds to persons handling them.
Thus, a strap and band cutter solving the aforementioned problems is desired.